Welcome to the third and final trailer post of this week.
You can find the first one here and the second one here.
Okay! I’m going to be taking a break for the winter period and will just be posting about trailers and a few films reviews. As stated in previous weeks, it’ll be a video game and enjoying food Christmas with a couple of reviews to round out the year.
Before that, I have a film season preview and coverage of the Blu-Ray release of Shinji Somai’s Typhoon Club.
What are the final selection of films for this week?
My Mother’s Eyes 
マイマザーズアイズ 「Mai Maza-zu Aizu」
Release Date: November 24th, 2023
Duration: 95 mins.
Director: Takeshi Kushida
Writer: Takeshi Kushida (Screenplay),
Starring: Akane Ono, Mone Shitara, Takuma Izumi, Shusaku Uchida, Hidemasa Mase, Toki Koinuma,
This is the second feature from Takeshi Kushida, who I interviewed for the film Woman of the Photographs.
Synopsis: Hitomi and her daughter Eri are cellists but their relationship is filled with tension as Eri suspects her mother resents her. One day, a traffic accident cripples Eri and blinds Hitomi. The two cope by sharing vision: Hitomi wears camera-equipped contact lenses and Eri wears VR goggles. This state-of-the-art tech is Hitomi’s attempt to save her daughter who says she wants to be euthanised but sharing vision comes with lots of risks…
Iruka wa Furadansu wo Odorurashii 
イルカはフラダンスを踊るらしい 「Iruka wa Furadansu wo Odorurashii」
Release Date: November 25th, 2023
Duration: 63 mins.
Director: Aki Morita
Writer: Shunpei Yoshioka (Screenplay),
Starring: Hiyori Katada, Yuko Fukui, Yuzuru Saito, Megumi Hagiwara, Ui Mihara,
Synopsis: High school girl Sato should be dreaming of her future as an actress in Tokyo but family issues prevent that as she cannot attend the school drama club due to having to care for her dementia-ridden grandmother Shizu. Sato is one of a growing number of kids who are fulfilling the role of carer and missing out on child time. She turns her situation around when she learns that Shizu, whose condition is worsening, wants to visit Hawaii and Sato decides to put on a “pseudo-Hawaii trip” in Zushi as a last memory for the family.
365DAYs＋ 
サンビャクロクジュウデイズプラス 「Sanbyaku Rokujuu Go Deizu Purasu」
Release Date: November 25th, 2023
Duration: 75 mins.
Director: Hiroyuki Kitaura
Writer: N/A
Starring: Satoru Shibata (Narration)
Synopsis: When Hiroyuki Kitaura decided to retired from his life as a salaryman working mainly in media at the age of 59, he faced an existential crisis and decided to make a documentary about how he felt about his new stage in life. The film covers the year leading up to the final date of departure from the world of work and how he had fared a year later.
This Magic Moment 
ディス・マジック・モーメント 「Deisu Majikku Mo-mento」
Release Date: November 25th, 2023
Duration: 90 mins.
Director: Lim Kah-wai
Writer: Lim Kah-wai (Screenplay),
Starring: Ayako Shimoji, Masanori Kinjo, Ryuji Taira,
Synopsis: The hook for Lim Kah Wai’s travelogue comedy Your Lovely Smile was sending real-life filmmaker Hirobumi Watanabe on a cross-country trip to seek out help for a film project that saw him visiting many mini theatres. This seems to be the basis of his latest film, a documentary that sees him touring mini theatres throughout Japan and interviewing the people operating them.
Metameta 
めためた 「Metameta」
Release Date: November 25th, 2023
Duration: 72 mins.
Director: Kousuke Suzuki
Writer: Hideyuki Arai (Screenplay),
Starring: Hideyuki Arai, Hikari Waza, Uri Suzuki, Makoto Kitai, Sho Kubota,
Synopsis: This is a film where the acting is done in an improvisational style. The cast worked with outlines for their characters. The story intercuts between different vignettes of people in relationships, all seen through the eyes of a writer who encounters them. He is named Kenji and his personal and professional life are in a slump as he struggles to juggle passionate women while looking for a subject for his novel. His confusion over his book seems to taint what is happening with the others…
Sylvanian Families the Movie: A Gift from Freya 
劇場版 シルバニアファミリー フレアからのおくりもの 「Gekijouban Shirubanian Famiri- Furea kara no Okurimono」
Release Date: November 23rd, 2023
Duration: 65 mins
Director: Kazuya Konaka
Writer: Hirotoshi Kobayashi (Screenplay),
Starring: Yuina Kuroshima (Freya Chocolate), Akeno Watanabe (Cocoa Chocolae), DAIGO (Blues Husky), Inori Minase (Lyla Persian), Kaede Hondo (Ralph Walnut), Mayu Matsuoka (Stella Chocolate),
Animation Production: Frebari, Aeon Entertainment
Synopsis: This is the first 3DCG animated film adaptation of the “Sylvanian Families,” doll line since it was first release in 1985. Prior to this, there were stop-motion movies. The story takes place in the bucolic setting of Sylvanian Village during the Star Festival. Lead character Freya has to get her mother a birthday gift while also having to decide the “tree of the year,” which is the main event of the festival.